{"product_id":"9781567926682-ernies-ark","title":"Ernie's Ark","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Abbott Falls Stories. A beloved short story collection—now in a new paperback edition with a never-before published story and an afterword by the author. \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Like Elizabeth Strout, her fellow chronicler of small-town Maine life, Monica Wood imbues her characters with the complexity and humanity of real people. \u003ci\u003eErnie’s Ark\u003c\/i\u003e is as true as life.”—Christina Baker Kline, author of \u003ci\u003eOrphan Train\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn ten interlinking stories, the town of Abbot Falls reacts as Ernie Whitten, pipefitter, builds a giant ark in his backyard. Ernie was weeks away from a pension-secured retirement when the union went on strike. Now his wife Marie is ill. Struck with sudden inspiration, Ernie builds the ark as a work of art for his wife to see from the window; a vessel to carry them both away; or a plea for God to spare Marie, come hell or high water.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the ark takes shape, the rest of the town carries on. There’s Dan Little, a building-code enforcer who comes to fine Ernie for the ark and makes a significant discovery about himself; Francine Love, a precocious thirteen-year-old who longs to be a part of the family-like world of the union workers; and Atlantic Pulp \u0026amp; Paper CEO Henry John McCoy, an impatient man wearily determined to be a good father to his twenty-six-year-old daughter. The people of Abbott Falls will try their best to hold a community together, against the fiercest of odds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFew writers can capture the extraordinary within seemingly ordinary lives as does Monica Wood. An unforgettable tapestry of love, loneliness—and neighbors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40575636799585,"sku":"9781567926682","price":8.94,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/products\/4817a02d2fd4948525baf1bf1cde4c33.jpg?v=1669465302","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781567926682-ernies-ark","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}